Mia Stainsby Vancouver Sun On a trip to Oaxaca earlier this year, I visited a nearby mountain village called The Place Where The Mole Freezes. At least that’s the English translation of the name. In Oaxaca city, I can tell you of The Place Where the Mole Sings and that would be at Seasons of My Heart Cooking School where Susana Trilling presides. She’s an expert on Oaxacan cuisine and has TV shows and cookbook credits to prove it. (That includes a 13-part PBS series called Seasons of My Heart: A Culinary Journey Through Oaxaca, Mexico. And Anthony Bourdain has filmed a TV episode at her cooking school.) She visited Vancouver recently promoting Oaxacan cuisine for Mexican Tourism. I caught her making enchiladas with coloradito mole sauce (a vry complex recipe, start to finish) at Mezcaleria restaurant on Commercial Drive. In Oaxaca, it’s the sauce that rules in a mole dish; at village markets, dishes were listed according to the mole sauce which threw me for a loop. Then, I saw ‘with chicken, pork, or beef’ in fine print at the bottom. There is good reason for mole worship. Moles are the pride of Oaxacan cooks and sometimes, it takes a village to make one, especially mole negro, the dish of national and village celebrations. It is a culture where people plant, harvest, cook and celebrate together; they organize fiestas and celebrate for days on end. It’s part of the culture of guelaguetza, she says (invoking the Zapotec language), a reciprocal giving and taking. An annual festival ritualizes this reciprocity which goes back to the pre-Columbian times. “One of the things a mole needs is a lot of time. You should never make it by yourself,” Trilling says. “Women in the country get all their daughters and friends together. It’s a great excuse to get out of the house.” Small wonder Oaxaca’s other name is The Land of The Seven Moles. More accurately, there are seven styles of mole with hundreds of variations depending on the village. “In Oaxaca, people spend time selecting ingredients. They use native ingredients grown in small patches. Things are picked when they’re ripe; chickens have been running around, pigs are from local farms. They don’t use industrial foods like in the North,” says Trilling. She didn’t have that luxury of making the mole sauce from scratch during the Vancouver demo so she brought her own mole paste from Oaxaca. “Today, we’ll do it the city way where women go to the market and buy mole paste.” Pastes are actually common in Oaxacan households. Women will make up a big batch of mole, balancing spices, herbs, vegetables, fruits, chilies, seeds, broths and reducing the mixture into a paste which will keep for up to six months without refrigeration and up to a year if refrigerated. Mole means mixture or concoction (which explains the word guacamole) and they have stayed true to age-old ways. “It’s an important tradition and tradition is everything,” says Trilling, in an interview. “Tradition is strength.” At Mezcaleria, she adds chicken stock, cooked onions, tomatoes and lard, reconstituting the mole into the satiny sauce its meant to be. “I have to say, our lard is better than your lard,” she laughs. “It’s brown and it has a really nice smell. But today, we’re going to use your lard. It has to smoke, then you know it’s ready.” Oaxacans rehydrate mole in a cazuela (clay pot). “One thing important about is the pot has to be wide,” she says. Oaxacan moles often have a smokiness from roasted chilies. A good mole is silky smooth, the effect of the stone metate, which is like a flat mortar and pestle. “You don’t roll, you push and put your weight behind it,” says Trilling. But today, blenders have taken over. Mole is thinned with a stock and thickened with masa, bread or even animal crackers. The red tomato of choice is the plum tomato for its meaty and consistent texture. Fresh and ripened, of course. Of the seven styles of Oaxacan moles, negro (black) is the queen (complex, time-consuming with spices like cinnamon, cloves, cumin, dried peppers, pumpkin and sesame seeds, herbs, chocolate and bread for thickening). “The chilies are harder to find; you take the seeds out, torch them on the fire and smoke is definitely one of the characteristics,” says Trilling. She says the chilies are all black chilies and tomatoes run the gamut from green to orange to red in this mole. Chocolate was once considered the food of the gods which might explain why it was used in this celebratory mole. Rojo, also known as mole poblano, is also a black mole but sweeter than mole negro with addition of dried fruits. Coloradito, a reddish mole, doesn’t require an army of cooks to make. Mashed ripe plantain is the thickener. “It’s also a fiesta mole but it doesn’t require as much work as a negro. People might make it for a birthday meal,” says Trilling. Amarillo mole is for everyday use and has an orange hue. Mole verde is made from fresh herbs and is often matched with pork. “It uses all fresh ingredient. On the coast, it’s used with fish,” says Trilling. Chichillo mole is Trilling’s favourite. “You take the seeds out of the dried chilies and burn, then grind them. To me, it’s European in structure. It uses a little cumin which is unusual. It’s esoteric and made in Oaxaca city or up a mountain village. It’s a wonderful mole,” she says. “There’s some avocado leaves in it for an anise flavour.” Manchamantel mole contains pineapple and plantain and is more tropical. “It means tablecloth stainer and I don’t know why,” says Trilling. “It’s a bright orangey red.” While culinary traditions are strong, she says there is a threat to the heritage corns, a cornerstone of Mexican cuisine. “Corn is at risk with Monsanto (a U.S. multinational chemical and agricultural biotech corporation) coming in. They’re already there and trying to get Oaxacans to sign over to them. It’s very scary. Corn is our whole culture, our livelihood and Oaxacans like to grow it themselves. They don’t want to eat commercial corn subsidized by the U.S. There’s a huge movement to fight this,” says Trilling. “A lot of us are involved.” Trilling co-wrote a book called From Seed To Salsa documenting 1,000-year-old agricultural and cooking traditions that still work in the Mixtec regions; it argues against the encroachment of genetically modified corn seeds from Monsanto. As for the enchilada with her Oaxacan coloradito mole sauce? Wonderful! Complex and deep yet subtle with smoothly integrated flavours. She is currently working with a distributor to import her moles to Vancouver.

RECIPES

OAXACAN COLORADITO MOLE WITH CHICKEN Susana Trilling recently visited Vancouver, packing some Oaxacan coloradito mole paste she made at her cooking school in Oaxaca, Mexico. She reconstituted the paste into the sauce for mole enchilada as moles making is a very lengthy process.

In a heavy 7-quart (7 L) stockpot, heat 6 quarts (6 L) water and the seasoning ingredients (up to, not including the chilies anchos) to a boil. Add the chicken pieces and lower heat to simmer. Cover and cook the chicken for about 35 to 45 minutes or until the meat is tender and the juices run clear when the dark meat is pierced with a fork. Remove the chicken, strain, and reserve the stock. Wrap the plantain in tin foil to cover completely and place in a 350 F oven and allow to roast for 35 minutes. The skin will burst open and the flesh will look transparent. Bring 2 quarts (2 L) of water to boil. On a griddle or in a cast iron frying pan over low heat, toast the chilies on both sides, toasting the chilies anchos a bit slower and longer than the chilies guajillos, because of their thicker skins. Toast them on both sides until their skins start to blister and they give off their aroma. Remove the chilies from the pan, place them in a medium bowl, and cover with the hot water. Soak the chilies for 20 minutes, turning to soften them. Purée in the blender, using as little of the chili water as possible, about 1½ cups (375 mL). Pass the purée through a food mill to remove the skins. On the griddle or cast iron frying pan, toast the peppercorns, cloves, allspice and cinnamon stick, and remove from the heat. Slowly grill the garlic and onions, turning them often until they become translucent. Cool them, then purée the spices, onion and garlic in a blender with ½ cup (125 mL) of the reserved stock. Set aside. In a medium frying pan, over medium heat, cook tomato pieces and marjoram or oregano with no oil and cook until condensed, 10 to 15 minutes. First they will give off their juices, then they will dry out. Purée the tomato mixture in a blender, then pass the mixture through a sieve or food mill. In a medium frying pan, heat 2 tbsp (30 mL) of lard or oil over medium heat and fry the bread slices until brown. Remove them from the pan. In the same oil fry the raisins until they are plump, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove them from the pan. Fry the almonds until light brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove them from the pan. Remove and peel the plantain and place it with the bolillo, raisins and almonds in a blender with 1½ cups (375 mL) of the reserved broth and blend until smooth. Wipe out the frying pan and put over low heat. Add 1 tsp (5 mL) of lard or oil and the sesame seeds and fry until brown, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. If they bounce around a lot in the pan add a good pinch of sea salt and the seeds will calm down. Cool the seeds and grind in a molcajete or spice grinder, or in a blender with a little bit of broth, blending very well. You can also grind the seeds in a Cuisinart with ½ tsp (2 mL) of vegetable oil to make a smooth paste. In a heavy 6-quart stockpot, heat 2 tbsp (30 mL) of lard or oil over high heat until smoking. Add the chili purée a little at a time stirring constantly. It will splatter about a bit, but keep stirring. Lower heat to medium and after about 20 minutes, or when chili purée is thick, add the tomato mixture and continue to cook, about 15 minutes, stirring to keep the mole from sticking or burning. Add the onion and ground spices mixture and stir well. Add the puréed plantain mixture and ground sesame seeds, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes. Add 4½ — 5 cups (1.12 to 1.25 L) of the reserved broth to thin out the sauce, little by little, constantly stirring and let it heat completely through, about 30 minutes more. Add the chocolate, stirring constantly. When the chocolate dissolves, add the salt and sugar, if needed. If the mole gets caught in throat, add more stock to balance the flavours. If it tastes like pure chili add sea salt bit by bit letting it dissolve each time to allow all the other flavours come through. It takes more salt than you may think! Let it cook down for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The more time it has to cook the better. Return the chicken pieces to the broth and heat through. Add more broth to the mole if needed. The mole should be thick enough to just coat a spoon, no more. Place a piece of chicken on a serving plate and ladle ¾ cup (185 mL) mole on top. It should completely cover the meat. Serve with hot corn tortillas.

Hint: You can use turkey, pork or rabbit instead of chicken. At Easter we use white beans, dried shrimps and a green herb called romeritos in mole coloradito. In the Sierra, it is made with wild mushrooms foraged from the woods. .

You should make this mole at least one day ahead, as the flavours will blend together better. The sauce freezes well too. Makes 8 servings.

TORTILLAS IN COLORADITO MOLE OR RED MOLE

This Oaxacan-style dish is the perfect way to use leftover mole sauce. In Oaxaca, enchiladas are traditionally made with mole coloradito or mole rojo. You can find many varieties of queso fresco or “fresh cheese” in Mexican specialty food stores. The parsley is important to the dish, as it gives a fresh green taste as well as colour. Enchiladas are red (the mole), white (the cheese and onions), and green (the parsley) –the colours of the Mexican flag, which makes a patriotic dish. You can stuff the triangles with chicken or cheese and fry lightly. Serve with black beans or with a fried egg for breakfast. These are also nice as a light meal served with a salad

In an 8-inch (20 cm) cast-iron frying pan over medium heat, heat the mole sauce to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add a little stock or water to thin the mole so that it just coats the back of a spoon, no more. Keep the mole hot. In another 8-inch (20 cm) cast iron frying pan, heat the oil until smoking hot. Fry each tortilla quickly, on both sides until soft and then drain. Place a tortilla in the mole sauce and coat both sides with the sauce. Place the coated tortilla on a plate and fold it in half, then fold it again to make a triangle. Repeat with another tortilla. Lay the second tortilla on top of the first with the points going in the same direction. Spoon more sauce on top. Garnish with some onion slices, queso fresco, and parsley. Repeat with the other tortillas, two per plate. Serve immediately.

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